The Spurs have a rich history of winning based on a strong, elegant culture. Since the days of Artis Gilmore and George Gervin, San Antonio has been a team to be respected. Guys like David Robinson and Sean Elliott followed, only to be followed by the greatest power forward of all time: Tim Duncan.
With the addition of Victor WembanyamaThe tradition of the Alamo City’s great men continues, but as great as they are, they get enough publicity. Some players have played a role on a championship team or left their mark in some other way and deserve to be recognized. San Antonio fans have always done a great job of showing love to the entire roster, so this just keeps the culture alive.
Every Spurs fan remembers George Hill. The versatile point guard from IUPUI impacted everyone in the city with his positive attitude and hard work. Coach Popovich has talked about his affinity for Hill and how hard it was to trade him. But that trade led to the selection of Kawhi Leonard and while the Klaw saga ended badly, he helped this organization rise to the top again after not winning a championship in seven years. He was the Finals MVP and won the DPOY twice in a San Antonio uniform. None of that happened without George Hill.
It’s weird that DeRozan is included on this list, I know. But despite his six All-Star appearances, none of them came while he wore the silver and black. That was partly due to a deep Western Conference, but also because he struggled to acclimate to his new situation. When the Spurs traded him to the Chicago Bulls, it was the first domino leading to a rebuild that brought in assistant coach Victor Wembanyama. There’s not much to say about the significance of that.
